The Heiress
“The Heiress”, is a movie that is based on a theatrical play that is based on a period melodrama. It was also developed as a “Woman’s picture”. Its casting is an important element of the film that pushes its story and telling beyond the ordinary and typical. The story is about an only daughter of a rich widow who is plain in look and not considered very intelligent or refined. She is courted by a handsome and penniless young man and her Father refuses to allow the courtship to continue, thinking correctly, that it is based on his (and eventually her) wealth. The Father succeeds in destroying the romance, forcing the daughter to discover the painful truth on her beloved’s true intentions. The daughter is played by Olivia de Havilland who works hard to come across as plain. The actress was no ugly duckling so her task was not easy. She succeeds in pulling it off by acting within the role, using body language to portray a lack of grace and deep shyness. It is a believable performance that raises the film to another level. Her betrothed is played by the up and coming and super handsome leading man, Montgomery Cliff. Since he was a budding star, the producers of the film demanded that the play, which place him as the villain, be re-written in order to show his character in a more sympathetic light. This resulted in placing the movies villain squarely on the Father. He is played by the great British actor Ralph Richardson. Richardson steals every scene he is in. He brings a clear depth to the role so that he is not shown as a cardboard villain. He is a widow who was madly in love with a wife who died young. Her beauty is always emphasized in his memory as is his deep disappointment with the appearance of his daughter. At the same time as we loath his actions toward his daughter; we feel pity for his pain. It is a magnificent performance worthy of high praise. The forcing of the young suitors true intention, leaves our poor heroine heartbroken on two levels. Her lost love with Cliff and the loss of her love for her Father. He himself ends up sick and dying without the care he used to receive from his lone offspring. She then ends living the rest of her life a bitter and, lonely spinster. This sad ending begs the question, if it is not better to live in a semi-fantasy of professed love, allowing every advantage, such as money, to help create this reality? Or is it better to see life as it really is and go on living in misery? If the film’s producers had not made Cliff’s character sympathetic, the movie would never have raised this issue, resulting in making this a deep and fine film.
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Back in 1947, one of the geniuses of comedy, Charlie Chaplain, attempted to make a black comedy about a mass murderer with, “Monsieur Verdoux” with mixed results. Some people liked it, but I thought it was too cold and off-putting. Making fun from something terrible is not an easy task. The British have a very unique type of sense of humor that celebrates its own self-criticism. They knew how to see the lighter side of everything and how to laugh at themselves. If anyone can create a black comedy it is the British. “Kind Hearts and Coronets”, is probably one of the best black comedies every made. Like Chaplain’s Verdoux, this film deals with a serial murderer who we are expected to like. But unlike Chaplain’s film, In this film we like our murderer very much and in so doing enjoy laughing at all the crazy predicaments he finds himself in. It does not hurt that the same actor who plays the murderer, also plays his eight victims. Playing multiple roles in the same movie is something that was done by “The Archers”, in their epic Colonel Blimp movie from a few years earlier. It is perfected here and would be made into a masterpiece 15 years later with Kubrick’s, “Dr. Strangelove”. In order to pull this off, the filmmakers required a great character actor or a great comedian. They found him with the marvelous Alec Guinness, in a star making turn. Guinness plays the son of a disinherited heiress who was ostracized from the family for marrying below her class. When he is not allowed to bury his dead mother in the family plot, he vows to ascend to the top of his families Dukedom which could only be done by having the other eight people ahead of him in the ascension list die. He must kill them all. Guinness plays all eight victims (including the lone female one). He does so with not only utter believability but with wit and humor, giving a distinct and funny personality to each character. There is one amazing scene when all four characters played by Guinness are standing together posing for a photograph. That this was done with the technology that existed in 1949 is one thing, but the fact that through posture and body language, each character looked like their own person is a testament to the acting of Guinness. Throughout the movie there is the prevalent feel of good manners. After all we are talking about the English upper and royal class. I am sure audiences in Britain took great pleasure in laughing at these spoiled pompous people. This film is as British as fish and chips and in so being is delightful and jolly good fun. So what if eight people had to die. They are all played by the same actor, so we are allowed to laugh and the movie is great fun.
Gun Crazy
For a B movie film with no real big actors and meant as a quick action film, “Gun Crazy”, is quite the influential and topical movie, even today. It has been cited as a direct influence to the 60’s crime masterpiece, “Bonnie and Clyde”. Filmed in a rough Noirish black and white style, the movie hits hard in its story about low life’s and losers. The movie follows the path of two characters that have an unhealthy obsession with guns. The first is a good intentioned but easily influenced innocent and the 2nd is the femme fetale, that he falls for, who is anything but innocent. The movie is a warning about falling for the wrong girl. Our protagonist, played with realism by John Dall, meets his blond love at a shooting show demonstration at the town fair. She is a crack shot and the star of the show but he is no slouch with a gun either. Both of them decide to run off together and then through our blond beauties’ love of money, graduate to robbing stores and eventually banks. Since the main character is shown as having a conscience, he is shocked when their crime spree eventually results in murder. She on the other hand has no qualms about stealing and shooting, driving them both deeper and deeper into the netherworld of lost souls. They become wanted by the FBI and are eventually caught and killed. The movies has a concise view of lost abandon and gun obsession which drives the plot at a break neck pace. Each subsequent robbery gets larger as well as more dangerous and violent. The major bank robbery in the film is exhilarating and frantic while displaying a dangerous tone that would influence future filmmakers for years to come. There is also a strong anti-gun message here that gives credence to the violence shown. This message has relevance even today making this one hell of a B movie.
Adam’s Rib
Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn were two of the best actors in Hollywood during the 40s, capable of playing anything from deep drama to comedy. They also happened to have been in love and married to each other. Hollywood realized that their true love could transfer onto the silver screen showing off their chemistry and cast them together in a number of light comedies. The most famous of these comedies is, “Adam’s Rib”, which concerns a husband and wife lawyer team. The Husband is a district attorney and represents the political right. Hepburn plays the wife and she is a humanistic defense attorney who cares about civil rights and other causes. She represents the political left. The movie pits them one against the other in a court case that concerns a jilted and ill-treated wife who shot and wounded her unfaithful husband. The pitting of the husband and wife against each other in court is contrasted with their life at home causing tension and problems. It also causes some lame one liners and a few laughs. I for one thought the jokes were mild and not very amusing. Still both Tracy and Hepburn are charming and enjoyable to watch. What is interesting is that the person who steals every scene she is in is not our famous married couple. It is Judy Holliday who plays the jilted wife who shoots her husband. She plays the part with true flair and emotion and is quite funny in her court scenes. The rest of the movie, while showing off some nice chemistry from Hepburn and Tracy, is pretty uninteresting and its social issues not very important or relevant today. The movie tried hard to make a feminist statement but only succeeds in being mildly entertaining.
Whisky Galore!
The British have treated film lovers every once in a while with many small, character comedies based in their small villages, islands and hamlets. Whether English, Scottish or Irish, these films show us the quirky personalities of these small town people with deep affection and love. Whether they are trying to be male strippers, posing nude on a calendar or growing weed for a living, we are given small films made up of lovable people and great sense of location. The Archers gave us a taste two years earlier with their delightful, “I know where I’m Going”, but the film that put this film style on the map is, “Whisky Galore!”. The movie deals with a small Scottish Island, rationed from Whisky during the war. It is clear that for these adorable Scottish people that whisky is not a luxury, but a necessity. A freight ship is shipwrecked just off the island’s shore and the townspeople work in unison to confiscate its freight of 50,000 cases of whisky before capsizing. They want to keep it for themselves and have to sneak by the resident Government commander of the home guard, who takes his job too seriously. The ensuing antics are extremely funny and the film pulls its audience firmly on the side of the Islanders and their love for Whisky. This is a movie without any main lead roles and consists of a group of character actors. Each one is as good as the next. We meet everyone from the sergeant of the home guard who wants to get married to an obsessive mother and the town wise man. The villagers work together and their near misses and problems that ensue are a real hoot. The film oozes of local atmosphere throughout its loving photography and localized music. This is a lovely little slice of life from across the Atlantic.
White Heat
“White Heat” is one of the greatest gangster movies ever made. It features James Cagney in what I consider his greatest role. His Cody Jarrett is a real thug. There is no conscience or decency in his character. There is just pure psychosis. The people that scare us the most are those who are unpredictable and cold in their viciousness. “White heat” makes its lead gangster Cody just that. He plays a psychotic gangster whose violence is brought out through his extreme headaches that are a result of his fractured psyche. The only person Cody trusts is his mother. We are given a hint at the cause of his cracked mind through his relationship with her. It is an overly obsessive, unhealthy relationship with more than just a passing hint at incest. The scene where he sits on her lap while she caresses him during a headache attack is illuminating. You are what your parents make you and Cody is made evil and crazy by an equally evil Mother. The psychotic nature of his villain influenced countless future versions of the criminally insane for years to come. This film has countless iconic scenes that are unforgettable. It begins with a terrific train robbery that shows us the cold blooded nature of our protagonist as he kills all witnesses. Cody is then forced to plead guilty of a lesser crime in order to take suspicion off of him. At this point the film enters the realism of prison movie. While in prison, his girl and former partner team up to kill his Mother. This leads into one of the great acting scenes in the movies. Cody is told while eating in the mess hall and through a game concerning telephone numbers and written messages that his mother is dead. Cagney then quietly contemplates his grief before rising up as the second’s progress into a howling violent rage of grief. There are other genre, trend setting aspects that this movie sets. We have the undercover cop pretending he is a crook and loved like a brother by the villain as well as the lying and cheating girlfriend. The movie contains a carefully planned heist that was a major influence to the great heist films of the 50s such as Huston’s “Asphalt Jungle” and Kubrick’s “Killing” which in turn influenced modern filmmakers like Quinten Tarentino. The heist gone wrong is the vehicle that leads to the end of Cody in the movie. Throughout the film his Mother kept telling him he was on top of the world. The movie ends with Cody standing on top of a burning gas tower screaming “top of the world Ma”. It is a fitting and explosive ending for a terrific film.
The Reckless Moment
The theme of innocent and normal people getting involved with criminals and the dark side of life is a nightmare many people have and a theme on many films. It is the major theme of the interesting thriller, “The Reckless Moment”, by the always interesting director, Max Ophuls. Ophuls always preferred in dwelling deep into the humanity of his tragic stories. The film zeroes in on a lonely wife of a travelling business man whose daughter is mixed up with a small time low life. In the evening that the daughter tries to break off with her criminal boyfriend, a struggle ensues causing him to hit his head and die. Our brave mother then uses her wits and a small boat to take the body and hide it. The problem is that the low life owes $5,000 to some gangsters, who find out what happened to their associate. All they want though is the money they are owed. James Mason is the gangster sent to this normal family with veiled threats and demands for money. Mason was perfect for the role as he made a career of playing complex heavies. The interesting aspect of the movie is the way it deals with the Mason’s character. He recognizes our heroine played with perfect measure by Joan Bennett as something pure that he lost before he became a criminal. He is constantly watching her live her life and his side glances of longing show a humanity that was hidden within his soul. The plot has him falling in love with Bennett and then sacrificing himself in order to save her. It is a romantic twist that works, however I feel that it is not really the love of the woman that drives his actions, but rather the realization that he is lost. He wanted to be happy once in his life and Bennett and her family reveal to him what can never be. His decision to protect this life is heroic. Bennett is saved from the bitter consequences of being sucked into the dark side of life but the movie is in itself a strong warning signal for all of us.
The Third Man
One the greatest films ever made is Carole Reed’s, “The third Man”. Set in the immediate Post War Vienna and filmed on location only a few years after the war ended, “The Third Man”, is the most visually stunning Black and White movie ever made. That is quite a statement considering one of its main actors is Orson Wells who created the other Black and White visual stunner, “Citizen Kane”. I watched this movie on a restored HD version and was mesmerized by its look and feel. The movie mixes stunning photography and eclectic music with a riveting crime story that begins as an unusual mystery. Almost every shot was filmed on location, including the iconic chase through the sewers of old Vienna that closes the film. Its ending is real and powerful and is the type of movie that makes you want to see it again the next day. The story places a B-grade writer of pulp westerns, played by Joseph Cotton, in Vienna, having been sent there by a childhood friend, who wants to hire him to do something that is never explained in the movie. As he arrives through an ecliptic narration, he is told that his friend has just died in an automobile accident. He goes to the funeral, is given hints that the death is a murder, is told to leave by the police and then ends up staying through a bizarre hiring by a cultural group to give a lecture on his literary works. Now that he stays in the City, he decides to investigate the murder, for which he discovers, is not what he or anyone else thought. His friend is played by the genius director Orson Wells who is discovered as being not what he seems. As well as not being dead. The search for the truth takes him and us through war torn Vienna. We are taken through the city’s famous locations as well as its backyard seedy alleyways and buildings. Once he discovers the truth, Cotton’s character attempts to give justice and save a love he found while searching for the truth. That love is the former girlfriend of Wells’ character. She is an eastern European refuge and actress terrified of deportation. The background of the story revolves around a Vienna that is divided and controlled by the four occupation forces (American, British, French and Russian). The film has a visual look that amazes. Reed uses a distinct German Expressionist cinematographic style that emphasizes a distorted look of size in the buildings and frames the characters as is if they were from another world. This results in showing us a Vienna that while semi destroyed from the War, looks like another planet. Another cinematic style used by Reed for this movie was the use of the “Dutch Angle”, camera technique that films a scene on an angle rather than straight ahead. These tilted shots portray a feeling of unease and danger. Hitchcock used this technique for many of his films but it has never looked better and more effective than here. In addition to the look, the script is smart and interesting as the Wells character deals with counterfeit medicine sold for millions in the Post War black market that results in the death of countless children. He is evil personified and there is a famous scene on the Vienna Farris wheel where he contemplates murder while at the same time professing his utter distain for human life (cuckoo clock speech). Wells has very little screen time, but is brilliant each time he appears. The music score of the movie is also of interest. It contains one piece, played throughout the film. It was written by a local Viennese Zither player. A zither is German instrument from the middle ages consisting of multiple strings stretched across a thin, flat body. It has a very distinct and medieval sound. The score adds a rhythm to the surrealistic looking view of the film that can only be described as perfect and will have you humming at the end of the film. The ending is a sad and bittersweet closing that fits the films tone. This movie is one of those rare pieces of art that combine writing, visual, acting and music to create something that is near perfect.
On the Town
Three horny sailors have 24 hours in New York and spend it looking for girls. One is searching for a girl he sees posted on a subway wall and then in real life, whom he thinks is famous and spends the rest of the movie, with his friends, looking for her. That is the plot of this Gene Kelly directed, choreographed and acted film. It is a golden age Hollywood musical as the sailors sing and dance throughout the City in search of Kelly’s poster girl. In the meantime the other two sailors meet their own girls in a brainy anthropologist and a sex starved taxi driver. Other than Kelly, the movie also stars Frank Sinatra, resulting in a musical containing one of the best dancers and one of the best singers of the era. What places the film over the top are three important elements. They are Its location scenery, great choreography and superb songs. The movie has about half of its shots filmed on location in New York giving is an airy and more spectacular feel. It has terrific dance numbers and fantastic songs. The story is minor and insignificant and the jokes only slightly amusing, however the songs and dance numbers are amazing. Especially when seen through the background of real outside scenery from 1940s New York. This is the movie that gave us that great song, “New York, New York”, in addition to other memorable songs. The combination of color, music and choreography make for great entertainment.
1001 Movies before you die 